Dr. Jacob Cooper

Dr. Jacob Cooper joined Nebraska Athletics as the Director of Football Mental Health and Performance in January 2026.

Dr. Cooper is both licensed as a psychologist (HSPP) and certified as a mental performance consultant (CMPC). This means he possesses the highest standard of training available in order to provide the most comprehensive mental wellness care for Nebraska football.

Dr. Cooper's approach to athlete care can best be described as person-centered, collaborative and evidence based. To this end, he strives to consider each athlete's unique background, while staying rooted in interpersonal neuroscience and cutting-edge mental training strategies to help them reach their wellness and performance goals. Additionally, Dr. Cooper regularly provides consultation to coaches & staff to help them establish training approaches that enhance resilience and wellbeing.

Prior to his role with Huskers football, Dr. Cooper served as the first ever full-time clinical sport psychologist for Appalachian State University. There he worked with all 17 Division 1 teams providing clinical care, mental skill training, and staff consultation for 7 years. He was promoted to Assistant AD in 2022 and Associate AD for Athlete Wellbeing & Sport Psychology in 2024. Through his leadership App State became a leader within the Sun Belt and nationally in the space of mind health for student athletes as well as training for developing sport psychologists.

He obtained his Ph.D. in counseling psychology with a specialization in sport and performance psychology from Boston University along with a dual masters in clinical psychology (M.A.) and sport psychology (M.S.) from Ball State University in 2014. He earned his B.A. in psychology from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana in 2011, where he was a scholarship athlete, four-year starter, and captain on the football team.

It was during his athletic career and graduate training that Cooper developed a passion for facilitating the use of sport as a vehicle for positive development in youth around the world. He helped conduct and research grant-funded youth sport programming in the countries of Ecuador (2010) and Jordan (2013). Additionally, from 2014-2019, he worked as a Glenn Fellow Scholar and assisted Dr. John McCarthy with the day-to-day operation of a physical activity-based program within inner-city Boston schools.

Dr. Cooper also serves as the team sport psychologist for one of NASCAR’s premier racing teams: Joe Gibbs Racing, and is a member of the NFLPA & United States Olympic & Paralympic Sport Psychology preferred clinician directories. He and his wife, Abbey are the proud parents of two children, Mercy Louise & Jax William.